Sunday, April 29, 2012

Mother's Day Coupons Freebie

As a 5th grade teacher, I often struggled with what to do for Mother's Day. I began my teaching career in middle school, and I never considered having my students do something for Mother's Day. When I moved to elementary school, I admired the cute arts and crafts projects that were on display in the primary grades, but I didn't feel I could devote hours of class time to this.

Later, I realized the importance of showing appreciation for others, and I began providing time for Mother's Day activities. Usually we tied this activity to a poetry lesson and the kids created poems for their moms. Then they wrote their poems inside of cards they designed themselves. At first they decorated their cards with crayons, but eventually I became more adventurous and brought out the water colors, scissors, glue, and sponge paints and gave them free reign to create a masterpiece! Even though it did take a bit of class time, the joy on their faces was well-worth the sacrifice in teaching time. This was a different type of lesson, but one that was just as important as math, science, and reading.

My students were so proud to be able to present a special gift to their mom, even if it was just a homemade card. As an extra touch, I encouraged them to create personalized coupons to slip inside their cards. Each coupon listed a special favor or something that the student was willing to do to show appreciation. Whether it be to wash her car, cook breakfast, or just give her a hug, they coupons were a nice touch, especially if the child did not have another gift to present. I've created a free set of coupons that you can print for your students, or you can display the coupons as examples for them to use when creating their own. The first set of coupons is in color, and the second set is in black and white. You could print the black and white ones and have students color the designs around the edges. You'll also find some blank templates in both black and white and color.

You can download this freebie from my TeachersPayTeachers store. If you like this item, please take a moment to rate it and leave a comment for me. Thanks!